Board of Directors

Pamela Piquette

President and Co-Founder

is a leader and a visionary following God’s call to inspire those affected by chronic illness to discover hope, find purpose, embrace worth and encounter joy. She believes that every precious life affected by chronic illness is both vital and purposed.

Pamela is a wife of 30 years, mother of three grown children and grandmother of two sweet granddaughters. Her work experience includes: banking, branch management, marketing, and development of comprehensive training programs. She has served in a variety of ministries within the church including: leadership of a new moms’ group, organizing training events, developing a curricula team for Men’s Ministry, and on staff with No Regrets Men’s Ministry. Pamela also worked for Feed My Sheep Food and Hospitality Ministry as Volunteer, Communications and Events Coordinator.

Pamela and her daughter are diagnosed with a list of invisible illnesses, including Ehlers-Danlos, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia and chronic migraines.

Cindee Snider Re

Author and Co-Founder

is a writer, photographer, wife, and mama of five (ages 17-25), whose work experience includes: communications, marketing, and volunteer management for the Arthritis Foundation, WI Chapter, copy-editing for Narada Productions, and content writing and photography for several ministry organizations and publications, including: The High Calling, Outside the City Gate, and C’est la Vie, The Magazine.

Cindee and four of her five children are diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos, Dysautonomia, and myriad co-existing conditions. She and her husband currently serve as patient representatives on a board of physicians and research scientists developing the Pediatric Consensus Statement on Orthostatic Intolerance Disorders.

Heather MacLaren Johnson

Board Member

taught elementary students with emotional and behavioral challenges. After the hospitalization and later suicide of her first husband, Heather pursued a doctorate in clinical psychology. She completed her doctoral internship at the North Chicago Veterans Administration Hospital in Illinois and maintained a private practice prior to adopting her children from Russia, each with numerous, invisible, permanent disabilities resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Heather has extensive experience working with the chronically mentally ill in numerous outpatient and inpatient settings. She views loving and advocating for her kids’ numerous physical, psychological and cognitive special needs as the most challenging and spiritually fruitful experience of her life.

Todd Johnson

Board Member

earned his BA in accounting and economics from Augustana College, his MBA from Northern Illinois University, and became a CPA in 1981. He has held business directorships at Milsco Manufacturing and US Fiduciary Services, and Non-Profit Directorships for The Carl and Irma Swenson Foundation, Ltd., New Beginnings are Possible, and RAJ Ministries, Inc., chairing the Boards of Pennant Management, Inc. and Affinity, Inc. Todd has been a self-employed accountant, financial advisor and investor since 1995. He and his wife Heather are the parents of three adult children adopted from Russia, each exposed prenatally to alcohol, which caused numerous, invisible, permanent disabilities.

Mary Juneau

Board Member

is a wife of 52 years, mother of four adult children and grandmother of six precious grandchildren. Mary has served in numerous volunteer positions over the years, including PTA President, Chair for Committee of 100, church Board of Elders, Head of Christian Education, and Bible study co-leader. Mary and her husband have fostered more than 20 pre-adoptive infants for Milwaukee County, adopting one of the medically fragile infants placed in their care. Mary was appointed to the Homecare Provider Committee as a Medicaid Recipient Representative by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, and later served as a liaison between committees. In her early fifties Mary was diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune illness.

Mike Juneau

Board Member and Secretary

retired from a 37-year career as CPA for Briggs & Stratton Corporation, where he developed the tax department, worked as assistant treasurer, chaired the company retirement plan committees and managed the plan investments. In addition, Mike is an ordained elder and has managed church finances at several churches. In 2006, he was on a team that assisted an inner city non-profit academy in developing its finance and strategy plans. Mike has been married to his wife Mary for 52 years. They have four adult children and six grandchildren, and have fostered more than 20 pre-adoption infants for Milwaukee County, before adopting their daughter Samantha, who has been on a ventilator for more than twenty-five years. Mike’s wife Mary has a chronic autoimmune disease. Daily, he experiences the role of caregiver, supporting and advocating for both his wife and daughter.

Heidi Peterson

Board Member

is a loving wife and dedicated mother to three beautiful children. Her journey with chronic illness began in childhood as a witness to the progression of a genetic, neurological disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth. She completed her BSN in 2006 and has been professionally assisting those with chronic illness since. In 2009, Heidi’s daughter was prenatally diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect, PA/IVS. In 2014, Heidi’s son was diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder and food allergies. As an effort to gain additional knowledge, she went back to school and completed an MS in Health and Wellness in 2017. Throughout her experience with chronic illness, Heidi has learned that prayer is a powerful gift and that the presence of God is felt in many unexpected ways.

Eric Steingraeber

Board Member

earned his BS degree in Architectural Engineering from MSOE. He has been employed as an Architectural Designer, an Architectural Project Manager and Construction Manager. Eric has been involved with both men’s and couple’s ministry with Elmbrook Church for the last 20 years. He has a heart for serving and missions, and traveled to Haiti to serve with his daughter a few years ago, reaching those in need through building both homes and relationships. Eric has been married for twenty-three years and has two teenagers, a son diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and a daughter diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Eric is an avid sports fan who enjoys coaching and mentoring kids in a wide variety of sports, believing that coaching, like teaching, is a means of helping kids find their true potential in all aspects of their lives.

Jenni Steingraeber

Board Member

earned her BSN from Viterbo College over 30 years ago. She has spent time in cardiac nursing and much of her career has been spent in the operating room, ranging from staff nurse to charge nurse. She currently serves as a clinical liaison for a wide range of immediate and extended family members. Chronic illness is no stranger as Jenni has lived with and cared for family members since childhood. She has been active at Elmbrook Church in both women’s and couple’s ministries, and has served with a variety of mission groups in both a medical and non-medical capacity. The latest adventure was a medical mission trip to Haiti utilizing True North, a boat, as their main base to reach remote villages. Jenni has been married to Eric for 23 years, and they have a 19-year-old son who has Type 1 Diabetes and a 16-year-old daughter who is currently in remission with her Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Her husband Eric has a chronic condition, requiring multiple surgeries and life-long monitoring. Jenni is also affected by childhood scoliosis, which has become a chronic pain issue as she ages.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Julie Sheridan-Smith

Pastoral Advisor

is a mother, wife, ordained minister, and a founding board member. She and her husband have three adult children. Julie became personally aware of chronic pain when her daughter began experiencing constant and excruciating back pain, resulting in surgery. Yet the pain continued and other unexplained issues began – nausea, stomach pain, and inability to keep food down. During her senior year in high school, her daughter became gravely ill with gastroparesis and spent much of her senior year in and out of the hospital. The quest for relief and solutions, the ongoing struggle of chronic illness, and the anxiety that accompanies both has drawn Julie to seek to know and speak of God’s presence in and through the reality of chronic pain – both for the one experiencing it and for those who love them.

Rachel Thiel

Board Member

is an eternal optimist who graduated from Marquette University with her Bachelor of Science and Doctorate of Physical Therapy degrees. Following completion of the University of Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency, she sat for the Orthopedic Clinical Specialist Boards exam and earned her OCS. Rachel’s continued education includes MyoPain Seminars Dry Needling course work and certification. She has worked as a physical therapist in Wisconsin since 2012, and believes the goal is better, whether that means better sleep, better nutrition, or a better relationship with God. While the diagnosis may not change, the quality of life and how that diagnosis affects life, relationships, and faith can be improved. Rachel uses a team approach to facilitate the best outcomes for her patients.

WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE HERE

Radical hope. Compassionate change. Equipping those affected by chronic physical and mental illness through community and education rooted in Jesus Christ.